Google Music set for November launch?

Rumours suggest so

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An iTunes-style store for Google Music could be launching in the US as early as next month, according to reports, with numerous deals signed with music labels.

According to the Guardian the music store add-on, which will sit alongside the company's cloud music service, is close to opening in the US with EMI apparently signed on and Universal about to commit. Sony and Warner are also deep in negotiations.

Speaking at the launch of the Nexus Prime in Hong Kong, head of Android development for Google Andy Rubin hinted that the music service was nearly ready to cross the Atlantic, explaining: "I think we're close… it will have a little Google in it. We won't just be selling 99-cent tracks."

No charge

At the moment Google is not charging for its service – which is similar to iTunes Match – and this does seem to be one of the sticking points for the labels.

If a fee was put in place (which Apple is already doing) then this looks likely to be a decent incentive for more labels to sign on to the service.

As for a launch in the UK, considering we haven't even got access to the beta of Music, we could be in for a wait, but it does look likely that we will get both sides of the service – storage and store – when it does eventually launch.